Monthly Archives: June 2015

Your home is probably one of the biggest investments that you’ll make. As such, protecting your home is one place you don’t want to scrimp on. Making sure your home is properly covered does not mean that you have to break the bank. The great part about homeowners insurance is that you don’t have to sacrifice coverage to lower your premiums. By mitigating losses, you can decrease your homeowners insurance payments while keeping your home properly insured.

If you’re in the market for a new house, ask your realtor about the type of roof. If the new house has a hip roof, you’re in luck. Hip roofs, while more complicated to build, are more hurricane-resistant which results in a nice discount for you!

The type of roofing material can also make a huge difference in your premiums. Not only can having better roofing material lower your homeowner insurance premiums, it could also get you a tax deduction. You may have to have your roofing material tested by an approved laboratory before you receive the credit but it’s certainly worth the effort.

If you’re buying a home that was built before 2002, ask your inspector to perform a wind mitigation inspection. Wind mitigation inspectors will assess how your home would fare in the event of a windstorm, hurricanes, etc. You can see why it is a vital part of homeowners insurance, especially in Florida.

As you can see, insurance companies (especially in Florida) are very concerned about your roof and what your homes chances are of surviving a storm. Consider this, if a hurricane blows through the Manasota area and your roof blows off, there will be substantial water damage which to the insurance company translates to substantial claims.

If you’re looking for a reason to renovate – look no further! For the same reason that they give discounts to new homes, insurance companies will give you credits for renovating! New homes or newly renovated homes have fewer safety risks. Rewiring your home can also result in savings since new wiring is safer and less likely to cause fires, shortages, etc. If rewiring your home sounds like something your home could use, depending on the age of your home, you could quality for a new wiring credit so it’s certainly something worth looking into. Check with your local insurance agent to see if you qualify!

Do you live in a gated community or a community with a guard? That could mean more insurance credits for you and decreased premiums. The reasoning behind this credit is that would be thieves could be deterred by the extra security and would move on to a different neighborhood. There’s also a discount for having a monitored burglar and fire alarm. These additions help to keep you and your home safer while also helping you save money.

These are some of the main discounts you may qualify for when applying for homeowners insurance, but certainly not all. To make sure that you’re getting the best premiums possible, call Lakewood Insurance and speak with a qualified local agent.